


Then At Least Remember This

by shsltokokinnie



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, DICE (mentioned) - Freeform, Fluff and Angst, God uh, Hopefully idk yet, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Roommates, Underage Drinking, pregame, probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:14:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29229039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shsltokokinnie/pseuds/shsltokokinnie
Summary: ”I’m just wondering... we drank a lot last night, right?” Saihara stares ahead at the blank wall, not looking at Ouma. My Komaeda poster used to be there, he thinks, completely off topic.”Mmmmm,” Kokichi says, almost sounding like he’s purring. “Yeah, the principal totally didn’t empty most of them out to give to the teachers as an apology. Why, do you not remember?”Saihara sighs, but it’s not from annoyance. More like a release. It’s been a while since he’s felt this relaxed. Even if he knows they both feel so bad they could puke any second.His voice is barely a whisper when he asks, “what did we do after I kissed you?”
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Iruma Miu, Amami Rantaro & Shinguji Korekiyo, Chabashira Tenko & Yumeno Himiko, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Then At Least Remember This

**Author's Note:**

> Pregame Saiouma fic because I said so!
> 
> Only one month left until Danganronpa puts them in the killing game, so everyone’s just gonna do whatever they want. Kicked out of school? Check. Party with almost the whole cast? Check.
> 
> Regret? 100%
> 
> Let’s just hope (ha ha) everyone makes it to the end, because 1 month can feel like an eternity depending on who you spend it with.

Prologue

”How are we gonna spend it?” Shuichi asks. “You know, our last month together.” He says it so casually, as if one of them were simply moving to a different school. They kind of are, though. If only it were that simple.

”I don’t know,” Kokichi lies. So pointless. He always has a plan, so why would this be different? “How about we just act normal until the big day? Them everyone will realize how fucked we really are and might actually pity us! Nishishi~!”

”Or,” he continues, staring up at the sky. They might only be on the dead grass in the schoolyard, but if he closes his eyes, he can imagine he’s in space. “We go batshit crazy until that last week. Can’t have a hungover protagonist.”

“So antags are allowed to be drunk on set?” Shuichi laughs, quietly, as if not to disturb the peace of their drunk 2 AM talk.

”Pfft, of course!” The smaller boy responds. “That would just make them even crazier.” After that, Shuichi goes silent. Kokichi turns his head slightly and notices he’s not looking at the beautiful starlit sky. His expression is unreadable.

”Hey,” Saihara says suddenly, only slightly predictable. “You really wanna go crazy this month?”

”I’d rather die,”

”Haha, that’s what I thought. And we can make that happen in the end, but...” They’re looking directly into each other’s eyes now. A different view than Kokichi had planned but still a _fantastic_ sight.

“... How about we start with this...?”

And then the taller boy closes his eyes, leans in, and kisses him.

Chapter 1

_Time left: 30 Days_

_Only one month left,_ Shuichi Saihara blinks. _I know we said we’d fuck around with everyone and everything, but I didn’t think we’d do... **this**._

He holds a bottle in each hand. The labeling was ripped off, but he could smell the remaining drops of alcohol in them. Basically empty.

”Come on, Saihara-Chan~!” Kokichi smiles at the hate of their school, despite the fact that he felt like puking. Even so, he yells, It’s not every day you get expelled from high school for breaking in at midnight and bringing alcohol!!! Twice!” As they starts walking across the street, he opens up a school bag to find even more bottles. Shuichi can’t count them all in movement, but there are more than enough for two people. Shockingly, some aren’t empty.

As they sloppily walk through a park, going off trail, Shuichi asks, “Shouldn’t those have been confiscated?”

Kokichi simply responds with a shake of his head. “I dunno. Let’s just save these for tonight.”   
  
“What’s tonight?”

The small boy snickers. “Your threesome with those two blondes who also made the cast,” almost tripping on a rock, he steps closer to Saihara. “You know, the... special, girl, and the alcohol seller? Music freak? I don’t know, you usually talk to her so..!” He closes the bag as they approach the path, and therefore other people.

”Wha–“ Shuichi flusters. Then he giggles. “You know Kaede and I aren’t a like that, and I barely even know Iruma!!” The thought of it is _so_ hilarious that he can barely keep his laughter at bay.

”Oh,” Kokichi has an especially cheery tone while saying, “Then I guess I’m the only one you’d ki–“

Shuichi slaps a hand onto Kokichi’s mouth. “Oh. My. God. I did that, didn’t I?” He laughs, not able to stop. His head starts to hurt. Maybe the adrenaline of being expelled has fill any stopped and he feels hungover again. “Let’s go back to my apartment,” He laughs a second more, although he doesn’t really know why. Without hesitation, he moves the hand that was just on Kokichi’s annoyed face to his hand, grabbing it firmly.

The small boy pauses a moment, then smirks. “Okay, but it won’t be _that_ easy to get me in bed~!”

Snickering at the comment, Saihara drags him to an expensive-looking apartment complex only a few blocks from the park.

They barely make it to the elavator.

”Ugh...” Shuichi groans, his stomach hurting more than it ever has before. He almost presses the wrong floor, but manages to press the top button. “Let’s rest for a bit.” They’re leaning into each other for support, both feeling hungover from drinking _how_ many bottles? Luckily for them, no one walks in on the two teens.

In front of the door, 666 (ha, he chose that on purpose), Shuichi struggles to get the keys out of his pocket with Ouma practically sleeping on him.

Inside the room looks just like the outside. Proper. Clean. Not a trace of individuality or Danganronpa. Disgusting.

”So they... cleaned this place again? Took all the merch and stuffed it in your room? Nishishi, you’re such a mess!!” Kokichi immediately flips onto a large navy blue couch but doesn’t try to sleep. “I’m guessing all your stuff is on the floor, maybe broken? Or they finally threw it away thinking why they let you live here?”

”You should look at yourself,” Siahara giggles, taking Kokichi’s bag and setting it down on the kitchen counter. “I’m going to the bedroom, tell shit at me if you need something!” His voice raises near the end, causing both a mild headache.

”That’s no way to treat a hungover host, I’d never do that!” The lie was so obvious to Shuichi that he had to laugh. Adding more to that headache, huh?

”Ugh... too bad there’s only one bathroom. I might clean up before sleeping.” He looks at a mirror in his room. His reflection shows smeared mascara.

Kokichi mumbles something so quietly in response that the taller boy has to go back and lean into the boy’s face to listen. Trying his best not to be too loud, he raises his voice saying, “Isn’t today Friday? The dumb music freak should be coming with stuff to fuck us up.”

Shuichi stares at him for a second. Shiiiit, _Kaede cannot see him!!_ He thinks. _She_ _hates Kokichi, even though they’ve only met once._ “Lease probably wouldn’t like seeing you, especially after what happened a few last month.

”And?”

”And seeing you here might make her think we’re...” He pauses. _Are we dating? We’re always flirting and getting drunk together. I mean, what I did last night probably wasn’t out first kiss, but it was the first one that wasn’t forgotten by morning._ Thinking about it makes his head hurt. “Hey,” he says a little louder than intended. It makes his stomach churn.

Kokichi sits up, letting Shuichi sit next to him. He leans on the blue-haired boy’s shoulder. This makes them both giggle. “Yeeees, my beloved~?” He responds softly, smiling. Although twisted it was a genuine smile. It was just that _they_ are twisted. Everyone who gets into Danganronpa is objectively insane, yet people enjoy the show and put up a front saying it’s different to enjoy it and audition for it.

 _They’re_ the least sane out of everyone.

”I’m just wondering... we drank a lot last night, right?” Saihara stares ahead at the blank wall, not looking at Ouma. _My Komaeda poster used to be there,_ he thinks, completely off topic.

”Mmmmm,” Kokichi says, almost sounding like he’s purring. “Yeah, the principal totally didn’t empty most of them out to give to the teachers as an apology. Why, do you not remember?”

Saihara sighs, but it’s not from annoyance. More like a release. It’s been a while since he’s felt this relaxed. Even if he knows they both feel so bad they could puke any second.

His voice is barely a whisper when he asks, “what did we do after I kissed you?”

The lie was completely expected, because it’s only at times where he’s drunk or hungover that Kokichi’s lies can just spill out like a faucet. Other times he’s usually pretty truthful. Sometimes Saihara wonders if that’s because of some trauma he hasn’t told him yet. “You told me to strip~! Or maybe we just drank and vented about how our ‘families’ reacted to us being chosen for the vast. Of course, it could be something completely different!” The small boy giggles. Shuichi can’t tell if it’s from thinking of that night or from his response.

Not thinking he’d need the actual answer, Shuichi eventually dozed off. Kokichi does, too, head still on his shoulder.

~~~  
  


They both jolt you to the same loud-ass sound of knocking and repetitive doorbell ringing.

”If you’re not here, I’ll leave the vodka I have outside the door. Dunno if your neighbors will like it, though.” Kaede’s voice, slightly muffled, is heard through the door. Ouma’s stomach churns.

”I need to go puke for a sec,” he starts to the bathroom. “And _totally not_ cuz of Akamatsu here, yelling and banging the door like she’s at a concert,” he adds, whispering.

Shuichi let’s Karde in just as Kokichi locks the bathroom door.

”Hm?” She looks over Saihara. “Wasn’t that what you bought last week?” She points are Kokichi’s bag, which still has bottles in it. Shuichi’s head starts aching slightly.

”Yeah,” he responds. “I might’ve had some fun last night...” he sighs softly. She walks over to the bag and looks inside. She turns her back to his as the bag rustles.

”You only left five bottles? What, did you have a party somewhere?” She laughs and Shuichi groans.

”Not so loud...” he clutches his head, yet still smiles at her joke. Seems like he could smile through anything. “You can have those back if you want, as long as you don’t overprice what you have today.” He gestures to the three vodka bottles in her purse. One is only half full, but it doesn’t bother him.

”I’ll take them. We are going to have a party here in a few days to celebrate the special occasion, so I’ll try to buy more.” She emphasizes ‘special occasion.’ Leadership lowers her voice slightly, saying “Almost the whole cast is going to make it! You know, except for Tsumugi because she’s busy writing. And, apparently, our cast is short one person despite the rising auditions, so that’s 14 people attending!!” She continues as she switched the bottles, putting the vodka in Kokichi’s bag along with the empty ones. “Team Danganronpa wanted to have another AI, but none of the top 100 who auditioned wanted to redo their character. I mean, what’s wrong with not being human?”She sighs, sitting next to Saihara on the couch. Her voice lowers to a whisper. “If I wasn’t already finalized as the Ultimate Pianist, I totally would’ve went for it.”

”Haha, me too.” Shuichi becomes slightly uncomfortable as she stays next to him, unmoving. _What will happen if Kokichi comes out?_ But he suddenly thinks, _Meh, let’s just let the chaos ensue. They’re arguments are always exciting from what I’ve seen, so why not?_

”I should leave, shouldn’t I?” Kaede looks directly into his eyes as she says this. It takes him by surprise, he forgets how perspective she could be. How did she notice? The click of the lock? His bag? Or maybe just a general guess. She keeps talking, anyway.

”Kokichi is probably in the bathroom puking his fucking guts out because of being drunks last night with you. You’d probably do it again tonight, but it doesn’t really matter. Because–“

_**SLAM!!** _

”Because I-I’m a horrible person...? And you want sweet Saihara-chan a-all to yourself?” Puma steps out of the bathroom, wiping his mouth on his uniform. He looks slightly different than when he’s alone with Shuichi. This Kokichi looks more vulnerable and timid than he already is, almost tragic enough to make Akamatsu regret what she said when they first met, at the Team Danganronpa facility.

”Give up the act you bitch,” Kaede immediately stands up, ready to leave. “And FYI, I don’t love him like that. I don’t love _anyone._ The whole human race is horrible!” She giggles darkly, putting a hand on her mouth while the other is placed on her hip. She doesn’t even need to say ‘And it’s because of people like you,’ because everyone in the room is already thinking that.

”Give up the act, eh...?” Kokichi smiles, but not his usual one. This one is darker, more intimidating, almost like a smirk. SHI I hi knows this looks well.

_He’s going to say what’s on his mind._

”Sure, gladly!!” He walks across the room, backing an almost scared Kaede to the front door. With all the fake confidence he can muster, he says, “So... how about this?” He stares up at her and whispers, “My head hurts like hell right now, but it’s nothing compared to how much I can hurt you.”

Not standing up, Shuichi leans over to look at them, his phone in his hands ready to record. The two could practically hear him thinking _**‘**_ _ **Fight, fight, fight!!’**_

Kaede snickers, seeing through him and pushing the fragile boy down. He stays on the floor but still looks at her. “I don’t have time for this shit, I know when I’m not wanted, unlike _you._ ”

Glancing at Saihara, she reaches for the doorknob. A small hand clutches her wrist tightly in response.

”Akamatsu-chan...” Kokichi says sweetly. “See you later~! Oh, I hope we see each other soon, I still have some unfinished business,” he let’s go of her, leaving a bruise. She stares at it. “Or not, who knows?” His smile matches his tone. Innocent. Something he’s definitely not.

”You...” Her response might harm the average person, but Ouma is not that. “You should just fuck off and die. Dive off the balcony or something. I’m sure you have tons of execution ideas, why not use one of those?” Not being helpful. Shuichivkaughs and keeps recording. Threat after threat is said, but none try to harm the other after Kaede’s bruise. Physically, at least. It seems they’re game is more of mentally crushing the other.

Before leaving, Kaede gives one last glance at Shuichi and says flatly, “See you in a few days,” then clicks the door shut, leaving the two in silence.

Kokichi makes a long sigh, gripping his right temple. “If only she stayed, we could of been the _best_ of friends!” Shuichi stands up and reaches to hug him but refrains. That stand in that silence for a moment. One boy at the door, a mystery, and the other on a rug, a false detective.

”Hey...” He walks over and grabs Ouma’s shoulder, instead, and asks, “What happened that day? ... When you met Kaede?” He pauses before asking one more question. “What was so big that you two have such a large grudge against each other?”

And Kokichi might’ve answered honestly, if he didn’t know Shuichi so well. Just looking at the emo with messy mascara could tell him that Shuichi was holding back a smile. His Saihara-chan loves stuff like this. It’s so messed up, but he does, too.

And if it entertains his beloved Shuichi Saihara, his best friend, Kokichi might as well kill himself.

”That’s our secret~!” He responds, putting a finger on his lip.

~~~

Saihara yet again wonders what could’ve happened just that morning (technically), when they were drunk, when his phone buzzes. The two are on his bed, playing Old Maid. Of course, as he should, Kokichi holds the Joker card.

”I could listen to that ringtone forever,” Kokichi makes the sarcasm obvious, as the smaller boy takes what is obviously not the joker.

”Okay, I’ll answer it!” He giggles and shuffles the cards so that they’re all in his right hand as he picks up the phone with his left. Leaning his head so his phone is between it and his shoulder, he reaches for one of Kokichi’s cards. “Oh, Kaede?” He looks at his hand and noticed that the joker is not a part of it.

”Nishishishi~!” Kokichi laughs to himself as Shiichi talks with Kaede. Their game goes on, but by the time it’s over, Saihara is too busy telling Kaede about what they’ve been doing in the past few weeks that he doesn’t even notice the boy cheating. “Oh, you’ve won,” he finally says, glancing at the joker in his hand. “The bet was that the loser had to do whatever the winner says, right?”

”Yep!” Kokichi lies, knowing that it was, in actuality, much less cliche. And much more complicated. “So stop talking to your girlfriend and listen to what I have to say!!”

Shuichi, in a surprisingly good mood for someone who’s about to do who-knows-what, hangs up and puts down the phone.

”What do you want me to do?” Shuichi asks as he puts the cards in their little box. “Give you my signed Kyoko Kirigiri poster? Let you completely demolish this expensive apartment? Have you move in or something?” _Huh,_ Kokichi thinks. _Moving in with Shuichi sounds... kinda cool, actually._

As Shuichi lists more things, each one becoming more romantic and suggestive, Ouma puts on a blank expression, not listening. _It would be better than living with the other creeps. Ten of them? Nine? What do they even call themselves? DICE or something? None of them even like Danganronpa, so... and would it mean no more of that rent I have to pay? Surely, Saihara-chan wouldn’t make me pay-_

”Sounds like heaven,” he says without thinking, expressions still blank. He looks at Shuichi, who seemed taken aback by his words. “I guess moving in would be better than where I already live, so that’s it!” He grins at a flustered Shuichi. “Or maybe I should think of some of the other offers you said... what was the last one before my reply?” Ouma tries to sound completely innocent, as if he was listening.

Too flustered to see though his lie, Shuichi stutters, “You’d r-really want to do _that?_ The thing I said a few seconds ago,” he adds, as if he didn’t just misunderstand Kokichi.

”Huh? Of course, Saihara-chan~!” He relies, bear hugging the other boy.

”Kokichi, you’re saying you want to move in, **_right?_** ” The emphasis on “right” was implicit, and seemed so out of character.

It was a first for the two.

”Hmmm? Do I need to spell it out?” Kokichi teases. He let’s go of Saihara and it only takes one look to realize what his so-called offers were.

He was what amounted might call a “fucking virgin,” _Jeez,_ Kokichi thinks. _Like I’d do something so slutty and lewd. Does my Saihara-chan even know me?_

”Ohhhh~ you were offering _that_ kind of thing!” He smirks, putting a finger on his lips. He could feel them moving as he said, “Well, too bad for you if that’s what you were hoping for, I’m moving in and that’s _final._ ” 

Shuichi laughs off all the tension he felt moments before. “Sure, welcome to my personal hell.”

”Oh and...” Kokichi leaps off the bed and heads toward the door. He’s careful not to step on any of Shuichi’s ‘treasured possessions’ that his- no, now it’s _their-_ so-called maid dicarded without a care. “Why did did you tell Akamatsu what we’ve been doing? Is she jealous?” He snickers, looking back from the doorway.

”No,” Shuichi smiles. It looks so normal on him. Almost as if he didn’t sign up for a company named Team Danganronpa to ruin his already-fucked-up life for him even more. “She told me not to tell you, but...” His smile falters into something darker.

”She wants to, as the saying goes, ‘keep your friends close but your enemies closer.’”

 _But why?_ Shuichi wonders. _Why am I telling her about Kokichi? Why do they hate each other so much? And why..._ He hears a faint click as Ouma closes the front door, most likely to pick up his stuff and then run back at full speed to sleep in... probably on Shuichi’s couch. The guest room isn’t really a guest room, since Saihara changed it into something more... interesting, but he’ll most likely have to change it back to a normal room for Kokichi.

_Why do I kind of want Kokichi to love me in some of the ways I said earlier?_

~~~

As the two fall asleep on the couch together near midnight, Ouma holding a Monokuma plush, Shuichi wonders why they feel so close yet so far.

_Is it because he’s a real mystery even out of the game and I’m just filling in the role of a fake detective? Will I ever really be able to “solve” him?_

_What if I start to regret joining Danganronpa?_

**Author's Note:**

> How did you like it ??? This was originally gonna be a postgame fic but then I realized I’m not suited for that and that I haven’t really seen many (long) pregame fanfics, so that’s what I hope this will be !!
> 
> I didn’t really have a chance to edit it so if there’s a typo or something point that out for me please ! 0w0


End file.
